Keith Tulloch Wine
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Location: Lower Hunter Valley
James Halliday Rating: 5 stars
In 1997, Keith Tulloch a 4th generation Hunter Valley winemaker, began his own company, producing wines under his own label focusing on the traditional Hunter Valley varieties - Semillon, Chardonnay, Merlot, Shiraz, and more recently Cabernet Sauvignon - sourcing grapes from only the best Hunter Valley vineyard sites. These wines are hand-made with meticulous care, and epitomise the best qualities of Hunter Valley wine. All wines released have the style, balance, structure and integrity necessary for graceful maturation and cellaring. Winery production is very limited, with a combined output of only 1200 dozen per year.
For Keith the greatest reward has been found - making his own wines with a unique stamp of personality, power and integrity - away from the mainstream, and with a individual style and flair.
James Halliday: .. "I cannot remember being more impressed with an initial release of wines than those under the Keith Tulloch label. The only problem is their small scale of production, like that of Geoffrey Grosset in his early days. There is the same almost obsessive attention to detail, the same ascetic intellectual approach, the same refusal to accept anything but the best."
James Halliday – James Halliday Wine Companion 2002 ed.
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2003 Keith Tulloch Semillon
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 A very youthful yet complex wine. The principal characters are fine lime and lemon being the true varietal signatures for this great variety. The essence is its lightness and elegance; Semillon has flavours that are very long and delicate with soft persistence. Following the best traditions of the Hunter Valley, my Semillons are made for cellaring. The fine fruit, the elegant frame, and the clean long acidity give the potential for gradual development and maturation over the next decade (with careful cellaring). During this time the prime fruit will be enhanced by a delicate and honeyed complexity.
“Herb, spice and lanolin aromas, but with much more flavour and texture (a touch is barrel fermented) than usual. Lemon, lemongrass and crunchy acidity to close.”
96pts - James Halliday Wine Companion 2005 ed.
Selected for 'The Top 100 Australian Wines' – December 2003
Selected for 'Australian Semillon' in the 'Tri Nations Competition' – August 2004
Top Rating current vintage Semillon in Australia.
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2000 Keith Tulloch Kester Shiraz
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The “Kester” name has a special significance to me. The “dynasty” of Tulloch in Pokolbin began when JY Tulloch (my Great-Grandfather) married Florence Kester, so I am honouring the materfamilias. Also, although I am not Keith Tulloch II, I am the second Keith Tulloch winemaker. The first (my Great-Uncle) was named Keith Kester Tulloch.
The Kester Shiraz is more than “just” a Hunter Valley wine. My focus with Shiraz has been deeply influenced by a love of Rhone Valley Shiraz wines, in particular the great Hermitages of Jaboulet. I worked with Jaboulet in Francfor the 1996 Vintage, and have adapted my Shiraz winemaking in the Hunter Valley to gain more fruit power and greater overall wine personality.
The result is a profusion of powerful aromas and flavours: dense plum and currant fruits with savoury/spicy power, hints of earth and spice, and great lingering complex finish of ripe briar-berry and silky smooth tannin.
This wine has been wood aged for 20 months in 50% Seguin Moreau and 50% Dargaud & Jaegle barrels, 50% new and 50% one year old, to proffer a soft, generous undercurrent of cedary spice.
“Medium to full red-purple; the powerful dark berry fruit of the bouquet has a light savoury/tobacco regional edge; the luscious, ripe palate shows a similar mix of powerful fruit.”
91pts – James Halliday Wine Companion 2003 ed.
“Showing full regional character of leather and spice, a very well balanced shiraz with years ahead of it.”
Winepros: August 9th 2002
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2000 Keith Tulloch Forres Blend
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 The name of this blend is pronounced "Forr-res", being the name of a town in Northern Scotland. This town district was the home of Keith's fore fathers, prior to their emigration to Australia during the mid 19th century.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the predominant variety (86%), blended with Petit Verdot (7%) and Merlot (7%), to create a powerful Bordeaux blend cellaring style.
The Cabernet Sauvignon provides immense palate flavours of black-currant and concentrated red-berry, extending with chocolatey richness.
Merlot polishes these nuggety Cabernet signatures, adding velvety softness to the length with perfumed notes of blueberry and mint. Petit Verdot contributes tannic tightness and depth, asserting firmness to the wine's structure. The Petit Verdot is always immense and deep, and adds more to the overall expression of the blend than the Merlot. French and American oak adds subtle vanilla and cinnamon spiciness onto the finish. Like the Kester Shiraz, the Forres blend has been made for cellaring. It will take many years for this tightly structured wine to open out, so decanting is recommended prior to drinking, but cellaring is recommended for at least a decade.
“Dense red-purple; deep, ripe blackberry and blackcurrant fruit on the bouquet flows into a potent, ripe, deep, multi-layered palate, adding a touch of chocolate and finishing with ripe tannins. Cabernet Sauvignon with a dash of Petit Verdot and Merlot.”
94pts - James Halliday Wine Companion 2003 ed.
“Best of the Best 2003” – 94 pts – James Halliday's Top 100 2003
“Cabernet Sauvignon with Petit Verdot and Merlot all integrated beautifully building to a complex finish.”
Winepros: August 9th 2002
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(+ 61 3) 8415 1375 | 
(+ 61 3) 8415 0591
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